Randall Greenawalt: The Murders and the 1978 Tison Gang Crime Spree
Randall “Randy” Greenawalt was an American murderer whose criminal history became especially notorious after he escaped from the Arizona State Prison with convicted killer Gary Tison in 1978. Greenawalt had already been imprisoned for murder when the escape occurred. Over the following days, Greenawalt and the Tison family traveled through Arizona and Colorado, stealing vehicles and attempting to avoid an enormous police manhunt. Four members of one family were murdered in the Arizona desert, and a honeymooning couple in Colorado was also widely attributed to the fugitives. Greenawalt was eventually captured, convicted of four murders committed during the escape, sentenced to death, and executed in 1997.
The 1974 Murders
Greenawalt's documented history of homicide began several years before the Tison escape. In January 1974, two truck drivers were killed only days apart as Greenawalt traveled through the United States. One of the victims was Henry Adelbert Weber, a truck driver whose body was discovered at a highway rest area near Blytheville in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Weber had been shot in the head. Greenawalt later confessed to Weber's killing, although the Arkansas prosecution did not ultimately result in the conviction for which he was imprisoned in Arizona.
Only three days after Weber's death, truck driver Stanley Edward Sandage was murdered near Flagstaff, Arizona. Sandage was found shot inside his tank truck. Money had been taken from his wallet, and his credit card was subsequently used. Greenawalt and his brother James were arrested after authorities connected them to Sandage's stolen credit card. Investigators also recovered firearms, including a .32-caliber pistol linked to the killing. Randall Greenawalt ultimately admitted responsibility for Sandage's murder and received a lengthy prison sentence.
The Escape from Arizona State Prison
By the summer of 1978, Greenawalt was incarcerated at the Arizona State Prison in Florence. Another prisoner there was Gary Gene Tison, who was serving a life sentence for murder. Tison had three sons, Donald, Ricky and Raymond, who helped organize an armed escape.
On July 30, 1978, the Tison sons entered the prison during visiting hours with weapons concealed among items they carried inside. Once the weapons were produced, guards and other people in the prison were threatened and confined. Greenawalt, who had access to the trusty annex control area, actively assisted in the escape and was armed during the operation. Greenawalt, Gary Tison and the three Tison sons then left the prison together.
The five fugitives initially escaped in a Ford automobile and later transferred to a Lincoln Continental. Their freedom immediately triggered a major search throughout Arizona. The situation became more dangerous when their Lincoln developed mechanical problems near Quartzsite in western Arizona.
The Lyons Family Murders
On the evening of July 31, 1978, Marine Sergeant John Lyons was traveling from Yuma with his wife Donnelda, their 22-month-old son Christopher, and their niece Theresa Tyson. The family was driving a Mazda when they encountered the fugitives in the desert. What began as an encounter with stranded travelers became a kidnapping and robbery.
The Lyons family and Theresa were forced from their vehicle. All four were shot. John, Donnelda and Christopher were left in or near the fugitives' abandoned Lincoln Continental. Theresa was separated from the others and left some distance away in a desert wash. The Mazda belonging to John Lyons was stolen and used by the escapees.
On August 6, authorities discovered the bodies of John Lyons, Donnelda Lyons and Christopher Lyons near Quartzsite in Yuma County. Searchers did not initially locate Theresa Tyson. Her body was finally discovered on August 11 approximately one-fifth of a mile from the abandoned Lincoln. Forensic evidence placed the deaths of the four victims between July 31 and August 2, with the murders generally reported as having occurred during the family's July 31 encounter with the fugitives.
Evidence presented against Greenawalt included his palm print on the abandoned Lincoln and ammunition evidence associated with weapons recovered from the fugitives. After his capture, Greenawalt also demonstrated specific knowledge of Theresa Tyson's fate and of where her body had been left. He was eventually prosecuted and convicted for all four murders.
Victims Connected to Randall Greenawalt
- Henry Adelbert Weber — Date: January 12, 1974. Location: Highway rest area near Blytheville, Mississippi County, Arkansas. Weber was a truck driver who was found shot in the head. Greenawalt later confessed to the killing, although he was not ultimately convicted of Weber's murder.
- Stanley Edward Sandage — Date: January 15, 1974. Location: Rest-area area near Flagstaff, Arizona. Sandage, a truck driver, was shot inside his truck during what authorities treated as a robbery. Greenawalt admitted responsibility and was imprisoned for the murder.
- John Lyons — Date: July 31-August 2, 1978, with the fatal encounter generally placed on July 31. Location: Desert near Quartzsite, Yuma County, Arizona. Lyons was a United States Marine sergeant traveling with his family when they encountered the escaped prisoners.
- Donnelda Lyons — Date: July 31-August 2, 1978, with the fatal encounter generally placed on July 31. Location: Near Quartzsite, Yuma County, Arizona. She was traveling with her husband John, their young son Christopher, and their niece Theresa Tyson.
- Christopher Lyons — Date: July 31-August 2, 1978, with the fatal encounter generally placed on July 31. Location: Near Quartzsite, Yuma County, Arizona. Christopher was John and Donnelda Lyons' 22-month-old son and was killed along with his parents.
- Theresa Tyson — Date: July 31-August 2, 1978, with the fatal encounter generally placed on July 31. Location: Desert near Quartzsite, Yuma County, Arizona. Theresa was the Lyons family's teenage niece. Her body was discovered in a wash on August 11, several days after the other three victims were found.
- James S. Judge Jr. — Date: August 9, 1978. Location: Pagosa Springs area, Colorado. Judge and his wife were newlyweds traveling in Colorado. Their deaths were attributed to the Tison-Greenawalt fugitives, whose possession of the couple's van strongly connected the gang to the crime, although Greenawalt was not prosecuted in Colorado for their murders.
- Jeanette Margene Davis Judge — Date: August 9, 1978. Location: Pagosa Springs area, Colorado. Margene was traveling with her new husband, James Judge. The couple disappeared during their honeymoon, and their bodies were later discovered at a remote Colorado location.
The Murders of James and Margene Judge
After killing the Lyons family and stealing their Mazda, the fugitives continued moving through Arizona and eventually traveled north. Vehicles were repeatedly abandoned or replaced in an effort to make the group more difficult for police to trace. Their movements eventually took them into southwestern Colorado.
James Judge Jr. and his wife, Jeanette Margene Davis Judge, were newlyweds traveling through Colorado. The couple disappeared on August 9, 1978, near the Pagosa Springs region. Their vehicle, a Ford van bearing Texas registration, subsequently came into the possession of Greenawalt and the Tisons.
When police later confronted the fugitives in Arizona, they were driving the Judges' van. The discovery immediately raised fears that James and Margene had been killed. Those fears were eventually confirmed when the couple's bodies were discovered at a remote site in Colorado months later. Investigators attributed the killings to the fugitive group. Because Greenawalt and the surviving Tison brothers already faced extremely serious murder prosecutions in Arizona, Colorado authorities did not ultimately prosecute Greenawalt for the Judges' deaths.
The Final Roadblocks and Capture
By August 11, 1978, the escapees were back in Arizona and traveling in the stolen Judge van. Law-enforcement officers had established roadblocks as the massive search continued. During the early morning hours, the fugitives approached a roadblock in Pinal County. Instead of surrendering, they drove through it while gunfire was exchanged with pursuing officers.
A second roadblock brought the chase to an end. The van was forced from the roadway and became disabled. Donald Tison, who was driving, suffered a fatal gunshot wound. Greenawalt, Ricky Tison, Raymond Tison and Gary Tison fled into the desert on foot.
Police helicopters, searchlights and officers on the ground soon located Greenawalt and the two surviving Tison sons. They were taken into custody on August 11, 1978. Gary Tison managed to escape the immediate search area but could not survive the extreme desert conditions. His body was discovered later after he died from exposure.
Trial and Murder Convictions
Greenawalt faced an extensive collection of charges connected with the prison escape, the violence during the manhunt and the deaths of the Lyons family. The most serious prosecution concerned John, Donnelda and Christopher Lyons and Theresa Tyson.
At trial, prosecutors presented physical evidence linking the fugitives to the crime scene and the abandoned vehicles. Greenawalt's own statements following his capture were also significant. During questioning, he revealed knowledge concerning Theresa Tyson and indicated that she had been left near the location where the other victims were found. Searchers subsequently located her body.
On February 16, 1979, Greenawalt was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder as well as kidnapping, armed robbery and motor-vehicle theft charges relating to the Lyons case. On March 26, 1979, he was sentenced to death for the four murders. The Arizona Supreme Court later upheld his convictions and death sentences.
Death Row and Execution
Greenawalt remained on Arizona's death row for nearly eighteen years while his attorneys pursued state and federal appeals. His case generated extensive litigation involving the admissibility of statements he made after his capture, his constitutional rights during interrogation, and challenges to his convictions and death sentences.
The legal proceedings did not ultimately overturn his death sentence. On January 23, 1997, Randall Greenawalt was executed by lethal injection at the Arizona State Prison in Florence. He was 47 years old.
Legacy of the Greenawalt and Tison Crimes
Randall Greenawalt's case remains one of the most notorious episodes in Arizona criminal history because it combined a carefully assisted prison escape, a multistate manhunt, armed confrontations with police, vehicle thefts and the murders of innocent travelers. The killings of the Lyons family were particularly shocking because the victims included a 22-month-old child and occurred only a short time after Greenawalt had escaped from a prison where he was already serving a sentence for murder.
The case also illustrates the importance of distinguishing between crimes for which Greenawalt was convicted and additional killings attributed to him. He was imprisoned for Stanley Sandage's murder before the 1978 escape and later convicted of murdering John Lyons, Donnelda Lyons, Christopher Lyons and Theresa Tyson. He confessed to the Arkansas killing of Henry Weber, while the deaths of James and Margene Judge in Colorado were attributed to the fugitive gang but were never prosecuted against Greenawalt. By the time of his execution in 1997, his name had become inseparable from the Tison gang's violent 1978 flight across the American Southwest.
